For the second year in a row I booked a trip on the Quino El Guardian. Last year it was a seven night southern Sea of Cortez trip. The Sea of Cortez and Socorro trips were my first liveaboard experiences. I traveled solo on both. I am AOW certified with about 170 dives (Roatan, Bonaire, Hawaii, Mexico, Philippines). My wife dives but have not yet talked her into a liveaboard.
TRAVEL
Seattle to Cabo on Alaska Airlines. I was able to fly in and out of Cabo on the days we departed/returned from Socorro (theoretically). The flight home was late leaving Cabo causing the connecting flight in Phoenix to be missed resulting in an overnight stay. I used a taxi to get from SJD to Marina Puerto Los Cabos in La Playita for $40USD. Returned to SJD from the Marina using Uber shared by three for $10USD each.
BOAT
I chose the Quino for the Socorro trip based on my past experience and cost. I believe it is the least expensive option for Socorro. The Quino is a converted fishing boat 90’ long with a 23’ beam accommodating a maximum of 16 divers. The Quino is not a luxury vessel but is well suited for diving.
The Quino has a shaded deck on top for relaxing. The main deck consists of the wheel house, galley, living room and dive deck. The dive deck has a spacious camera table. Four shared bathrooms with showers are also on the dive deck (no bathrooms below deck). There are four cabins with four bunks and one with two bunks below deck. I shared a cabin with three other divers. Our cabin did get stuffy, especially the last few nights (the AC worked fine just too many bodies). The bathrooms being on the dive deck made late night bathroom trips an adventure.
While in transit at night there were at least two crew awake, the captain and a watchman who would roam the boat. Anchored, at least one crew member remained awake. A couple of guests slept most nights on the couches in the living room which was at the head of the stairwell to cabins below deck. I thought of them as additional smoke detectors. We were told not to charge any devices in our cabins.
The crossings to and between the Socorro Islands were fairly rough. Forecast called for swells to 8ft and winds first from the south then the north during our nine day trip. The main crossing to and from the Socorro islands took 28 and 33 hours, respectively. To ward off seasickness a dose of meclizine in the morning and again at night worked well for me. A couple of divers suffered from seasickness at times. One diver was very seasick for the first three days – Yikes!
I thought the food was good to excellent. The menu for the day was posted in the morning. They accommodated portion increases/decreases and substitutions. Plenty of snack were offered between meals. Beer and wine were included. The boat was kept clean and tidy by the crew.
DIVING
I had read that Socorro can get crowded. We did one day of diving at Roca Partida with two other boats present but the crew did an excellent job coordinating dive times with the other liveaboards. Seas were rough and the forecast called for increasing winds so only one day at Roca. At San Benedicto and Socorro Islands we never had more than one other boat present and were often the only boat anchored at a particular site.
There were three groups (6,5,5) of divers using two inflatables. Each group was lead by a dive master. Groups would depart roughly 15 minutes apart. At least one inflatable always remained with the divers below. 21 dives were offered with 3 to 4 dives per day (no night dives). I purchased the nitrox option. We dove loosely as a group and were allowed to explore and/or surface with a buddy. Total dive times were limited to 60 minutes.
Water temps were 79-81F on most dives with the occasional colder pockets down to 75F. I was very comfortable in my 5mm wetsuit. Weather was typically in the 70's with clouds and wind so the 5mm was great after the dive while collecting the other divers and returning to the Quino. Some of the divers in skins and/or 3mm suits eventually got chilly/cold. I would the summarize the diving as “sporty” with negative entry most dives, blue water, current and surge when close to seamounts/rocks.
Days 1, 2 and 6 were at San Benedicto Island, day 3 at Roca Partida and days 4 and 5 at Socorro Island. Dolphins interacted with divers at San Benedictio and Socorro on about half of the dives. Mantas were present at the San Benedictio and Socorro Islands with a half dozen hanging around “The Boiler” on San Benedicto. Sharks were present on every dive. I identified the following species: white tip, silver tip, galapagos, dusky (one), tiger (one), Hammer head and Silky.
CONCLUSION
I had a mind blowing dive adventure with a bunch of great people. Will I return to Socorro? Yes.
TRAVEL
Seattle to Cabo on Alaska Airlines. I was able to fly in and out of Cabo on the days we departed/returned from Socorro (theoretically). The flight home was late leaving Cabo causing the connecting flight in Phoenix to be missed resulting in an overnight stay. I used a taxi to get from SJD to Marina Puerto Los Cabos in La Playita for $40USD. Returned to SJD from the Marina using Uber shared by three for $10USD each.
BOAT
I chose the Quino for the Socorro trip based on my past experience and cost. I believe it is the least expensive option for Socorro. The Quino is a converted fishing boat 90’ long with a 23’ beam accommodating a maximum of 16 divers. The Quino is not a luxury vessel but is well suited for diving.
The Quino has a shaded deck on top for relaxing. The main deck consists of the wheel house, galley, living room and dive deck. The dive deck has a spacious camera table. Four shared bathrooms with showers are also on the dive deck (no bathrooms below deck). There are four cabins with four bunks and one with two bunks below deck. I shared a cabin with three other divers. Our cabin did get stuffy, especially the last few nights (the AC worked fine just too many bodies). The bathrooms being on the dive deck made late night bathroom trips an adventure.
While in transit at night there were at least two crew awake, the captain and a watchman who would roam the boat. Anchored, at least one crew member remained awake. A couple of guests slept most nights on the couches in the living room which was at the head of the stairwell to cabins below deck. I thought of them as additional smoke detectors. We were told not to charge any devices in our cabins.
The crossings to and between the Socorro Islands were fairly rough. Forecast called for swells to 8ft and winds first from the south then the north during our nine day trip. The main crossing to and from the Socorro islands took 28 and 33 hours, respectively. To ward off seasickness a dose of meclizine in the morning and again at night worked well for me. A couple of divers suffered from seasickness at times. One diver was very seasick for the first three days – Yikes!
I thought the food was good to excellent. The menu for the day was posted in the morning. They accommodated portion increases/decreases and substitutions. Plenty of snack were offered between meals. Beer and wine were included. The boat was kept clean and tidy by the crew.
DIVING
I had read that Socorro can get crowded. We did one day of diving at Roca Partida with two other boats present but the crew did an excellent job coordinating dive times with the other liveaboards. Seas were rough and the forecast called for increasing winds so only one day at Roca. At San Benedicto and Socorro Islands we never had more than one other boat present and were often the only boat anchored at a particular site.
There were three groups (6,5,5) of divers using two inflatables. Each group was lead by a dive master. Groups would depart roughly 15 minutes apart. At least one inflatable always remained with the divers below. 21 dives were offered with 3 to 4 dives per day (no night dives). I purchased the nitrox option. We dove loosely as a group and were allowed to explore and/or surface with a buddy. Total dive times were limited to 60 minutes.
Water temps were 79-81F on most dives with the occasional colder pockets down to 75F. I was very comfortable in my 5mm wetsuit. Weather was typically in the 70's with clouds and wind so the 5mm was great after the dive while collecting the other divers and returning to the Quino. Some of the divers in skins and/or 3mm suits eventually got chilly/cold. I would the summarize the diving as “sporty” with negative entry most dives, blue water, current and surge when close to seamounts/rocks.
Days 1, 2 and 6 were at San Benedicto Island, day 3 at Roca Partida and days 4 and 5 at Socorro Island. Dolphins interacted with divers at San Benedictio and Socorro on about half of the dives. Mantas were present at the San Benedictio and Socorro Islands with a half dozen hanging around “The Boiler” on San Benedicto. Sharks were present on every dive. I identified the following species: white tip, silver tip, galapagos, dusky (one), tiger (one), Hammer head and Silky.
CONCLUSION
I had a mind blowing dive adventure with a bunch of great people. Will I return to Socorro? Yes.
